View Full Version : High Calcium - Need Some Info
Hi Everyone,
Welp, had my blood test done a month ago as part of my annual physical and got the results in the mail today. The doc wrote "Calcium is High" and that I need to follow up in 1-2 weeks to discuss abnormal results and treatment options. They will also be drawing my blood again.
I don't want to go down the avenue of Doctor Google as the first page already scared the crap out of me. Has somebody had this come up before and can you tell me what happened or if it's anything serious to worry about?
Thanks so much.
:bighug1:
My father in law has had high calcium for as long as I've known him, ohh I met him when I was 19 and I am 56 now.
The drs said it comes from the parathyroid gland. They wanted him to get it taken out because high calcium can cause kidney stones.
He never had it out, he's never had kidney stones and he will be 95 in November.
Wow, what a great long life he's had. Thank you for sharing this, it does put my mind to ease just a bit.
My father in law has had high calcium for as long as I've known him, ohh I met him when I was 19 and I am 56 now.
The drs said it comes from the parathyroid gland. They wanted him to get it taken out because high calcium can cause kidney stones.
He never had it out, he's never had kidney stones and he will be 95 in November.
Wow, what a great long life he's had. Thank you for sharing this, it does put my mind to ease just a bit.
Yes, he really has. The high calcium has never caused him any problems.
It will be interesting to find out what your drs recommend.
A relative of mine had hypercalcemia and it needed to be brought down via a drip. They were advised to drink lots of plain water. When the levels rose again, the same needed to be done again. If your levels are just a small bit above normal then I doubt anything will be done about it. My relative wasn't allowed to leave the hospital until the levels were brought down though so I imagine your levels are only slightly raised.
Thanks, KeeKee. Amazing how prior to taking the blood tests I talk myself down for all the possible illnesses that could be discovered and one I didn't even know existed (high calcium) pops up. I love health anxiety. :lac:
A relative of mine had hypercalcemia and it needed to be brought down via a drip. They were advised to drink lots of plain water. When the levels rose again, the same needed to be done again. If your levels are just a small bit above normal then I doubt anything will be done about it. My relative wasn't allowed to leave the hospital until the levels were brought down though so I imagine your levels are only slightly raised.
Thanks, KeeKee. Amazing how prior to taking the blood tests I talk myself down for all the possible illnesses that could be discovered and one I didn't even know existed (high calcium) pops up. I love health anxiety. :lac:
Health anxiety is a funny thing. The good news is though, even if your hypercalcemia is severe (which it doesn't seem) it's usually caused by a benign tumour which is easily sorted (as per my relative).
Keekee, my father in law also.
Keekee, my father in law also.
Wow really. I wonder if it's pretty common.
Wow really. I wonder if it's pretty common.
Not sure, he's the only person I've ever known that has it. He's done so well for so many years I wanted to share that here :-)
Not sure, he's the only person I've ever known that has it. He's done so well for so many years I wanted to share that here :-)
Saying that my relative is the only person I know who has had it too. My relative only had hers sorted last year so it's good to know your father in law has been well all this time after. My relatives high calcium has sorted itself after the benign tumour removal.
Welp, went for my follow up visit to the doc and they scheduled an ultrasound for my parathyroid. I asked how concerning this should be and he said if my parathyroid is the reason for my high calcium then I have to have surgery to remove it.
I'm a ball of nerves. :( Never had any kind of surgery before, which I guess I should be thankful for. Anyways, I didn't even want to ask what if it's not my parathyroid because I'm not sure me or my HA want to know.
I think it could be complicated but not necessarily anything dodgy.
My relative was told the same. They were told they have hyperparathyroidism and may need to take medication for life. They eventually were told they had a mass on the parathyroid but it was benign as most are.
The 'mass' was removed, only there apparently was no mass, but the hyperparathyroidism and high calcium have now subsided. This was almost a year ago. The surgery isn't nice but it's not that bad (assuming it'd be the same as my relative). My relative stayed overnight but the next day was allowed home. There was absolutely no hurry for my relative to be sorted with this it took months that's how little they worried. Also my relative doesn't need medication and the surgeon even said sometimes the parathyroid just needs a little nick and it sorts itself out.
Sobay, I am not surprised at all that surgery is being recommended. I am not sure why but my father in law was against having his parathyroid removed. I am not suggesting this for you, but wanted you to know.
On another note, I had 2 surgeries 1 year ago (2 in 7 months), I slipped and broke my elbow, surgery #1 was to wire it back together, surgery #2 was to remove the hardware.
I was beyond scared..
Know what? It really wasn't bad and if I had to have surgery again, I would not be afraid. I can't even believe I just typed that, but truth be told, I'd do it again if it was needed.
You're going to be ok, I just know it. :-)
KeeKee and Nancy, thank you so much. You've kinda held my hand through this and although I know it doesn't seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things with health, it is a huge thing for me.
I need to do a better job of not being so fearful all the time and not letting something like this take up all my concentration. I've done nothing but dwell on this and my work is piling up.
Again, I appreciate you guys and will keep you posted. I know somebody is going to google the same thing I did one day and want to see that it's going to be okay.
It's understandable you'd be worried, it's just human nature. Hope you feel well soon and get it all sorted. I know from my relatives perspective they felt pretty crappy when their calcium was high.
Alright, so now my anxiety is through the roof.
My doctor's office called me yesterday and my heart sank. I answered and they said, we will need to draw your blood again because we didn't know we were supposed to be testing for your PTH. I said, "Well, what did I do the blood draw for?". They responded saying they rechecked my glucose and calcium levels. I said, ok, what were those levels? "We can' tell you because the doctor hasn't signed off on it." Can I talk to him? "Um, no, he just stepped out".
Okay, how about the ultrasound I did for my parathyroid last week, what were those results? "Our fax machine wasn't working, so we probably didn't get it." Ummm..okay? "We can call and get it if you'd like?" Yes, please!
And that was it, so basically I have to go get my blood drawn again for the parathyroid test and it's like nobody is giving me any info? Meanwhile I wake up every morning with a pit in my stomach like something is very wrong with me and if I never had this dang annual checkup I wouldn't even be worried about anything...well, except for my usual daily crappy general anxiety, lol!
Anyways, sorry to about the rant, it's just frustrating and I'm seriously considering telling this doctor's office to shove it and start over with the doctor my wife goes to. It just doesn't seem like there is much concern from them.
Thanks for listening! :bighug1:
---------- Post added at 15:00 ---------- Previous post was at 14:07 ----------
Alright, so I just got back from marching into the doctors office. By marching I mean fighting off panic attacks on my way into the office. They gave me the referral or whatever it's called to have my PTH blood test. I said, well since I'm here can I have the results of my calcium and sugar at least? They said no because the doctor wants to review the whole thing with me (including the PTH) once I get that completed. All I was looking for was the number to see what changed, if anything, over the month and a half.
Then the doctor popped out of the door and explained why he wanted to review everything with me at one time, it made sense. I asked again about the ultra sound and he said if there was something wrong the facility that I had it done at would not have let me leave. I'm not sure how much stock to put into that, but it made me feel a bit better for that moment.
Ugh!!!! I swear, doctors and waiting for medical tests are going to be the death of us.
I'm sorry you're going through this, hopefully you get those results very soon.
Ugh!!!! I swear, doctors and waiting for medical tests are going to be the death of us.
I'm sorry you're going through this, hopefully you get those results very soon.
Nancy, I know everyone is different, but do you think based on what you may have overheard with your relative that since my calcium did test high three years ago, then normal a year ago (although at the borderline 10.2) and then 10.5 this time around that if it were something serious it would have been detected over the last few years?
I'm trying not to let my mind go "there", but it really is effecting my anxiety and overall well being just thinking and waiting and wondering.
Thank you, Nancy! :flowers:
I would think so. I just know my father in law didn't do anything to treat it, drs kept mentioning his calcium was high he seemed more annoyed that they kept bugging him.
I'm not saying that not treating it was the right thing to do, just saying he wasn't any worse off because he didn't.
His birthday is coming up, he'll be 95.
Hi
You need to read parathyroid.com, it will not scare you.
Parathyroid tumors need to be removed.
I should also reassure you that parathyroid tumors are very very rare.
I had my surgery done by Dr. Norman who wrote all the info on parathyroid.com
My surgery took 17 min. and I was back in my hotel room in 4 hours.
He estimated my tumor had been there for about 10 years and it was the size if a kidney bean. The normal glands are the size of a grain of rice.
My only symptom of hyperparathyroidism was anxiety and sleeplessness.
I still suffer from anxiety but I'm much better then I was.
My bones have suffered and I will be on calcium supplements for the rest of my life, I do not have osteoporosis yet, thank goodness.
I am 61 and travelled to The USA from Canada for my surgery, I could have had it here but did not want to wait for months and months.
Once the doctor received all my bloodwork I was booked for surgery within 3 weeks.
I met people from all over the worked having the same surgery.
Best wishes to you and you can message me anytime if you have any questions.
Please don't let them put you on vit D, your body is keeping your Vit D level low to protect you from higher levels if calcium in your blood. If your calcium is high or even normal your PTH should always be low. Get your PTH level checked.
Mugs
---------- Post added at 07:14 ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 ----------
Hi, sorry
I mean't to say that cancer of the parathyroids is very very rare.
Benign parathyroid tumors are not common. Most family doctors will never see one in all their years of practice.
Mugs
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